Root-knot nematodes, especially Meloidogyne incognita, cause substantial yield losses in tomato production and remain one of the most challenging soilborne pathogens in Brazil. The entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae has been recognized for both its nematicidal activity and its capacity to promote plant growth, although these two functions have rarely been demonstrated simultaneously in the same study. This work evaluated the effectiveness of M. anisopliae in stimulating tomato growth and reducing M. incognita reproduction under in vitro and greenhouse conditions. Three experiments were conducted using tomato hybrid ‘Sophia’, with treatments including fungal application, nematode inoculation, and their combination. In both experiments, M. anisopliae significantly increased plant height, shoot fresh mass, and root fresh mass compared with untreated controls. The effect of M. anisopliae was also directly evaluated on egg masses under in vitro conditions to verify the hatching rate of juveniles. When applied to nematode-infested plants, the fungus reduced nematode reproduction by 56% in Experiment 1 (FR: 4.2 to 1.8) and by 55% in Experiment 2 (FR: 5.2 to 2.3).Single and double applications of M. anisopliae produced similar agronomic responses, indicating that one application was sufficient for growth promotion. Overall, the results demonstrate that M. anisopliae acts as both a plant growth promoter and an effective biological control agent against M. incognita, bringing greater prominence to the management of plant-parasitic nematodes, particularly root-knot nematodes in tomato.
B. Paes, Rhayane Resende Pillat, Melissa Dall'Oglio Tomazini et al.· Journal of plant diseases an...· 0 citations
Meloidogyne incognita
is one of the main phytonematodes affecting cotton productivity, requiring sustainable control alternatives to chemical nematicides. This study evaluated the efficacy of different bioinputs based on
Bacillus velezensis
BEIB-46 for the biological control of
M. incognita
and their effects on cotton development. The strain was identified through high-resolution genomic analyses, followed by production via submerged fermentation and formulation into four distinct forms: fermented broth (6 × 10⁸ CFU/mL), fermented broth supplemented with 10% composting extract (4 × 10⁸ CFU/mL), concentrated wet biomass of
B. velezensis
BEIB-46 (1 × 10
1
⁰ CFU/g), and concentrated dry biomass of
B. velezensis
BEIB-46 (1 × 10
1
⁰ CFU/g), applied at different doses at planting. After 98 days, the final nematode population, reproduction factor, control efficiency, and agronomic parameters were evaluated. All
B. velezensis
treatments significantly reduced the
M. incognita
population compared with the untreated control. The highest control efficiencies were observed for the concentrated formulations, particularly the dry solid form, which achieved up to 83.4% efficiency and reproduction factors of 0.4 and 0.3. In addition to nematode suppression, the treatments significantly increased fresh root mass and shoot dry mass, indicating a biostimulant effect. The concentrated dry formulations (2 and 5 g/ha) demonstrated superior performance by combining high nematicidal efficiency with root or shoot growth promotion, as well as improved commercial attributes and operational feasibility, highlighting the potential of
B. velezensis
BEIB-46 as a sustainable alternative for the management of
M. incognita
in cotton cultivation.
Willian Bergonsi, Rodrigo Gobatto, Luiz Carlos Oliveira da Silva et al.· European journal of plant pa...· 0 citations
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